Long, Dark Road
by HeatherAshley
Summary: Riddick meets with an old rival, and gets put into the Slam again. What happens after he escapes a second time?
1. Prologue

Kalena was obsessed with her brother's death

Kalena was obsessed with her brother's death. Obsessed with the man that had killed him. There was only one thing to do. She punched him in the face.

"Ouch." A look of confusion came over Kalena's face. He had just killed almost everyone in this building to get to her. He had a bullet in his shoulder that didn't even make him grimace, yet her punch elicited an "_ouch_" and a look that was an equivalent to a pout.

"You're going to make me think that you're not to happy to see me." Then he hit her on the top of the head with the butt of his gun, just hard enough to put her out. Riddick caught her as she fell and put her down carefully on the carpet. Then he shut the door to her plush, high-rise office. He gracefully lowered himself into her black, leather chair and began typing on her computer.

The files on her computer were remarkably comprehensive. It detailed all of his own life over hundreds and hundreds of pages. He whistled lowly. "These people know more about me than I know about myself." Looking over his shoulder, he glanced at Kalena. He felt a flash of remorse. He liked the woman, save for her great flaw of being a cop. She used to hunt him alongside with Johns. She would have been a great companion. He wouldn't hesitate to kill her though. Must be my primitive side, he thought with a grin.

"Delete all files?" an electronic voice enquired. "Yes," Riddick replied, trying to pitch his voice like Kalena's. It waited…waited…and kept waiting. _I must be losing my touch_.He heard a muffled groan and realized that Kalena was waking. Riddick twisted the chair so he was facing her. Two lethal, but somewhat unfocused eyes, met his own. _Fuck, surely he hadn't given her a concussion_. "Damn you, Riddick." She looked at the bruise that was forming on his cheek and grunted in satisfaction. "You didn't kill me, so you must want something."

"If only you knew." Moving slowly, he grabbed Kalena's wrist and pulled her into his lap, before turning the chair back to face the computer. Now she was trapped between Riddick and the desk. Disconcerted, for a moment all she was aware of was Riddick's close proximity, how powerful his chest and thighs felt against her. 

Riddick inhaled deeply. It had been so long since he had had a woman. Kalena fit perfectly against him. "Say 'yes,'" he whispered into her ear. As much as he would love a dalliance, there were reinforcements coming and time was limited.

Kalena licked her dry lips before croaking the word. "Voice print recognized, High Officer Kalena D. Johns. Files deleted." Riddick grinned triumphantly. They could never restore those files now. There were many less detailed databases regarding his life, but none so detailed that a psychological guess could be made as to what his next move would be. None of the small nuances of his life or character remained.

Riddick stood, carrying Kalena with him. As soon as he was sure that she had her footing he was gone. She ran into the hall after him. There he stood at the end, patiently waiting for the elevator. The doors opened, but before he stepped in, he looked back. Then he threw a shiv at her. She watched as it made a slow arc and landed at her feet. When she looked up he was gone and she felt more than a twinge of disappointment. He must have known that she would go to her door. Was she growing so predictable to him? Kalena picked up the shiv and began to inspect it. It was finely made, bone sharpened to a razor-thin point and a soft, leather handle, with an inscription on the blade. _To an opponent found worthy._

Kalena slumped back into her chair. She had been unprepared to do what was necessary to stop him. As a result many of her fellow officers died. Their lifeblood would stain her hands. _Damn you_. Her head was still fuzzy and had a dull ache. She should probably get it checked out.

She was momentarily distracted by something that sat on her desk. It was her hat. Her blue hat with a copy of her badge and number on it. It had been missing for some time now; she wondered how Riddick had gotten his hands on it. She lifted it and found that hidden underneath was her badge. Kalena adjusted her hat on her head and immediately knew. Her brother, Lawrence Johns, merc, hype. He had stolen it. Probably to lend credence to the illusion that he wanted to protect people. She laughed for the lie that it was.

She turned the shiv over in her hands. Riddick was the man who had always eluded her. She had never been able to catch him, following him from planet to planet, always one step behind. They knew each other as friends would. But friends they were not. She felt they had the mutual respect of people who had fought a battle and were impressed with what they saw. She was confused as to why he would make such a blade for her. He was a criminal. Some might use his hard beginnings as an excuse, but Kalena held no such illusions. Riddick was a strong soul. He could overcome anything. Yet he chose to kill. Which might belie his true weakness.

Hearing movement at her back, Kalena quickly opened her desk drawer and withdrew her tranq-gun, hiding the knife in its place. She turned, arms out, keeping her gun aligned with her vision so she could shoot on sight. "Captain," she said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Captain Russel stormed into her office, blustering. "Who did this, High Officer? Eighteen of our finest men and women were in this building."

"I don't know, Captain. I just arrived at the alarm's sound to find this mess. No sign of the killer though. Richard Riddick's file had been deleted. It is unrecoverable." _You made sure of that, didn't you? _Kalena sighed inwardly.

"Looks like Riddick's work." This time Kalena couldn't hold her displeasure in check. "Captain, respectfully, there has been no sign of Riddick since the episode that took Second Pilot Carolyn Fry from us. We have no reason to believe that he is still alive." If it ever got out that Riddick _was_ alive there would be widespread chaos among officers and mercs alike. A feeding frenzy to bring him to justice, whether for the good of humanity or a simple paycheck. Chaos.

"His body was never recovered. That is reason enough, High Officer."


	2. Slam

Riddick had always been so careful

Kalena felt that only a special type of person to use a knife or a shiv. Riddick was one of those people. The knife was the most intimate of weapons. You had to get up close and very personal. Only a shiv could show how fragile the human body really is. A gun, a wire, poisons; they were cold, impersonal. A knife invokes fear like no other weapon. Kalena couldn't help but imagine trying to eviscerate another person. What sort of human being could stand having the blood of his victims spilling over his hands? Maybe that was the reason she couldn't help but fear Riddick. He didn't scare her, but she feared him.

Riddick had always been so careful. His natural instinct and intelligence ensured that. Yet here she stood in his hotel room door. He was facing off with what would usually be his worst enemy. Something made it different this time. Kalena Johns. He killed her brother. Never regretted it. Not so long ago, he could have killed her, as well. But he chose not to. Why? Riddick surely knew this day would come. Pain swelled in his chest, because she looked so like Carolyn. She stood strong and proud, with that same tilt to her chin. He began to study his options. The only exit was past Kalena. She was standing there staring at him. Riddick grinned inwardly. He couldn't smell fear on her at all. He wasn't at all surprised when she shot him.

"Riddick," she admonished. "You're going to make me think that you're not happy to see me." She shot him without hesitation, but not without remorse. For over three years, her sole purpose had been to find him, to hunt him down. Where would she possibly go from here? Kalena had had no other purpose but Riddick for so long that her future seemed empty without him.

For a moment she sounded so like Johns that he imagined he heard the man's voice overlaying her own. Riddick pulled the dart out of his shoulder and spun it in his right hand. He could feel the drug the moment it entered his body. Already it was dulling his senses and slowing him down. He moved from the doorway and sat on his bed. Her voice broke through his thoughts. "I'm going to miss you in the game, Richard Riddick."

"Then let me go." His words were coaxing, coercing. "The game doesn't have to end here." They were almost tender, like quiet words spoken to a lover. 

The man had a great charm, she would admit. Kalena felt an almost blinding terror at his next words. "If you send me back to that Hell, you will die a slow death at my hands."

Riddick awoke to total darkness. Of course, to him it was never dark, but he knew. He knew where he was. His bitter laughter echoed through the empty halls of the prison known as Slam City. At least, the laughter that could be heard around the horse bit in his mouth. He pulled on the chains that secured his hands behind his back and the biting pain in his arms assured him that this was no dream. They had gotten smart this time. His hands were secured to the floor with a long chain.

Richard Riddick, whose only goal in life had been survival, contemplated a dark thought His own death would be better than the bleak future staring him in the face. _Kalena. _He closed his eyes and imagined her. So like Carolyn…

A wave of sorrow overtook Riddick, causing him to double over. Since his escape, he had kept himself busy and he only went to sleep when he was exhausted. Now he would have days, weeks, years. Years with nothing to do but think of how he couldn't save her. _Come on, Riddick… Let's move… I said I'd die for them, not you…not you…_


	3. Meeting

Kalena was walking to her car from the grocery store

Kalena was walking to her car from the grocery store. She had never been so terrified in her life. _Is that him? Is that? Is he going to come for me today?_ She couldn't stop thinking that he was coming for her. That today would be her last day. She quickly loaded her groceries into the car and didn't feel safe until she was locked into it. Kalena rested her head against the steering wheel and tried to fight off tears. _He's not going to get out…he's not…_

She awoke from the nightmare drenched in a cold sweat and shaking with fear. He had almost killed her that time. She wearily yawned and cursed him. Kalena froze when she heard a noise from downstairs. Leaning over the edge of the bed, she took out the gun she kept underneath the mattress.

Walking slowly down the stairs, she felt sweat trickle between her shoulder blades. _Riddick…Riddick_. His name whirled about her brain. He had finally come to kill her. She entered the kitchen and, trembling, fumbled for the light switch. No one was there. No one was ever there.

It had been six months since she put Riddick back in Slam. She put her back to the wall and slowly slid down it, until her knees were at her chest and she was sitting down. She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of the hand holding the gun. Then Kalena broke down. She began to sob. Six months of nightmares and paranoia. Her captain asked if she wanted to be relocated…but that would never work. Even if she left, he would find her, and she didn't want to give Riddick the satisfaction.

It had been hard for Kalena ever since she put Riddick away. She had never been so terrified of him, now that he was locked safely away. She believed that she was slowly going crazy. Dreaming of him every night, of him killing her. No one deserved to live like this.

Kalena sat with her back to the kitchen wall until the first rays of sunlight shone through her kitchen window. Then she slowly, stiffly got to her feet. Today was going to be a new day for her. She headed back up to the bathroom that was joined to her room. After a quick shower, she got into her car and drove to work. "You're late, Johns."

"It's nice to see you too, Captain." She didn't even stop for the reprimand, but walked quickly to her office where she buried herself in the days work and tried to forget all that had happened.

Chewing on the pinkie fingernail of her right hand was a habit Kalena had tried to break for years. But lately the poor thing didn't stand a chance. She took the shiv out of her desk and turned it over in her hands. Maybe she would take it home. I should have just killed him when I had the chance. As she was leaving work that day, Captain Russel tried to stop her once more. Kalena would have none of it until he spoke.

"He got out," he watched her closely, judging her reaction. "You can stay here. You'll be safe."

Kalena wanted to fall to the floor and cry. "Not too long ago Riddick killed half of our force and you think I'll be safe here? I won't be safe anywhere if he decides to come for me." She wanted to lock herself into a small room and never come out, but that wasn't any way to live either. She would face him, even if it meant her death.

She drove aimlessly for an hour before finally deciding to go home. 


	4. Alone

Riddick was sprawled on the couch

Riddick was sprawled on the couch. It was really quite comfortable. He heard keys in the door and peeked his head over the back of the couch. She was still beautiful. She didn't look like Carolyn so much anymore. There was no proud tilt to her chin now.

Kalena came in the door and tossed her purse on the couch before heading straight to the kitchen. She turned on the light and searched for something to eat. She hadn't had an appetite for several days, but now she was ravenous. It was long after she usually forced some dinner down her throat.

She has just pulling some bread out of the fridge when there was a knock at the door. She took her gun out of her side holster and checked it. Loaded, all safeties off. She walked through the living room and stubbed her toe on the coffee table. Today just wasn't her day.

"Damn," she swore and moved to the door to look out the peephole and turn on a light. It was just Captain Russel. Probably here to check up on her. For all the menace the man put forward, he was a teddy bear on the inside. Kalena heard the clank of her keys and then a thud as her purse fell off the couch. The Captain knocked again. "Kalena."

Kalena froze. His voice was just as she remembered it. He rolled her name off of his tongue like it was the most important word in the world. "Are you happy to see me?" Riddick's chest came up against her back and his right hand slid down her arm and his left encircled her waist. Surprisingly, he didn't take the gun away from her, just molded his hand over hers. "Open the door. It's rude to keep company waiting."

Shaking, she reached out with her left hand to the doorknob and opened it. "Kalena, what…" Then he stopped. Riddick kept the gun in their hands trained between Russel's eyes.

"Come in, sir. Come in. Who is this, Kalena?" She felt something hard on her stomach and looked down. He had taken the shiv out of her purse and was pressing it against her. Riddick noticed her distraction and said: "Do you think of me every time you see this? I hope so. Now who's your friend?"

"This is my Captain on the force," she could only whisper for her fear.

"Say good-bye to him." He whispered this into her ear, so only she could hear. Kalena felt his finger slowly squeezing hers down on the trigger. Tears filled her eyes and she tried to fight against him but her strength was nothing when compared to his. The blast was a loud one and when her fingers loosened on the gun, Riddick let her drop it. She felt dizzy and would have fallen if he hadn't been holding her up. She closed her eyes and almost fainted. 

He took her chin in his hand and gently forced her to look at the body. "Let me explain your situation. Your bullet is in the good ole' Captain's head. Your fingerprints are the only one's on the gun. What jury wouldn't convict you? And your being a cop would just make it so much worse. I can see the headlines now." He waved a hand in front of her face showing her the shiv, which stopped her struggling against him. "Crazed cop kills superior. It'll be great. So you see, now you're just like me. How long do you think it will take until they find the body and start to search for you?" He leaned over to whisper in her ear again. Pressed against Riddick as she was, Kalena could feel his arousal. Whether it was from her close proximity or the fact that he had just killed someone, she would never know. "I came here to kill you, Kalena. But this is better."

Again, he waved the shiv in front of her face. "I should get this changed. It just doesn't suit you anymore." His laughter echoed in her ears.

"Do you know what they do to women in the Slam?" His hands wrapped tightly around her waist and slowly moved up to her breasts.

"Fuck you, Riddick." Kalena renewed her struggles, kicking and biting whatever came into range. It did no good, and served to only arouse him further. Kalena could feel herself going numb and recognized the symptoms of shock.

"That's exactly right, Kalena." He was practically purring in her ear. He slowly licked the back of her neck. "Do you know what I'm going to do to you?" And in that moment she did.


	5. Gone

When Kalena finally opened her eyes, he was gone

When Kalena finally opened her eyes, he was gone. She sat up and winced at the pain. She looked down and saw the blood that dotted her thighs. Her blood. She gathered her torn clothes around her, got up, and slowly made her way to take a shower.

After she finished showering and dressed, she began to pack a bag. Riddick was right. No one would believe that she hadn't killed Captain Russel. She put in clothing, some personal items, a couple of books, and some pictures of her family. She picked up one that showed Kalena and her parents at her high school graduation. If only she could talk to her mom. But she wasn't too good at communicating with the dead. Lastly, she packed her two guns and left the room without looking back.

Walking downstairs with her bad, Kalena went into the kitchen and packed some non-perishable food. Then she picked up the phone and dialed the station. She reserved a ticket for Dawn Michaels. She was going to New Mecca. If she had a chance of finding Riddick anywhere it was there. Imam Rashad and Audrey Bryant, or Jack, were Riddick's allies. He would go there before anywhere else.

She sat down at her kitchen table and scrawled a note:

I know what this looks like, but I didn't kill Captain Russel. Richard Riddick came into my home and shot him while I watched. I'm going after him. I'm going to kill him.

High Officer Kalena D. Johns

She walked from the only home she had ever known and went to wait for her ship to leave. As she was boarding, she saw her own face on a television. She was wanted for murder.


End file.
